Imagine your child with a patch of red and crusty skin. Not a pleasant site is it? That is what a soy allergy can do to your child. Every parent, no matter how well-read, has moments of helplessness. Particularly, in cases of a sudden health condition that needs to be tackled immediately. Soy allergy is often very tough to detect, and very difficult to manage as well. Considering, most of the food items (note chocolates and others that kids like) are loaded with soy lecithin, keeping them out of your child’s reach is a tough job.
A friend went through a harrowing case of food allergy with one of her twin girls, who were merely 2.5 years old. While eating dinner, she noticed that the younger of the twins was constantly trying to scratch an itch on her hands. This constant scratching had made her daughter quite irritable. After a lot of elimination diet strategies, the doctors nailed the allergy to be towards soy products. Cautiousness is her case is of such extremes that bags of chocolates that guests get for the kiddies are just vamoosed before they even see it. Sad life being allergic to soy, but sadder for the parents to watch their kids sulk.
Here are some “to lookout” for tips that can help nail the allergy:
- Don’t feed your child cooked foods you didn’t make yourself — or anything else with unknown ingredients.
- Tell everyone who handles the food that your child has a soy allergy.
- Make school lunches and snacks at home where you can control the preparation.
- Learning how to recognize an allergic reaction will help you get your child the medical care needed, if a reaction occurs. Carry an over-the-counter (OTC) antihistamine for your child, as this can help treat mild allergy symptoms.
- Take your child for skin test to confirm a positive allergic reaction.
- Get your facts right. Not all soy products are allergenic. High levels of some soy allergens may be found in soy milk drinks or in soy powder. Soy sauce is prepared by fermentation, which reduces the ability of the food to cause an allergic reaction. This means, your child may not react to soy sauce, yet react to other soy products.
Soy is one of the nine most common food allergens after milk, eggs, and peanuts. Although allergy to soy is most commonly seen in young children with atopic eczema, they can occur at any time to any child, so it is imperative that you are well prepared.
There is no doubt that the child must be constantly monitored especially at parties or social gatherings that have plates of food put out. Melt-in-the mouth sugary goodness, chocolates are all out there inviting kids to a seemingly innocent bite. Keep a watch for any unusual symptoms like wheezing, stomachache, vomiting, itchy, watery, or swollen eyes, red spots, swelling and dizziness.
As per my pediatrician, children do get over their allergies after 4-5 years of age. It remains to be seen if that is true. Did your child ever suffer from an allergy that he outgrew? Share your experience of how you coped physically and mentally.
